The TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS - The King's Men

The King’s Men is the close-harmony vocal group formed by the current Choral Scholars of King’s College, Cambridge. Twelve Days of Christmas showcases the lighter side of their seasonal repertoire including Away in a Manger and Gabriel’s Message alongside classic favourites such as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Santa Baby. Pat Dunachie, now First Alto in the King’s Singers, can be heard channelling Mariah Carey in All I Want for Christmas is You.

Unlike many close-harmony groups, The King’s Men record together in a natural acoustic, instead of tracking each voice separately in a studio. This results in stronger musical cohesion and a more authentic sound.

Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music, says he is proud of the success earned by the King’s Men:

“I am delighted that, after the success of the first King’s Men recording on the College label, the Choral Scholars have recorded this outstanding new collection of Christmas music. That they have planned, rehearsed and performed for this recording themselves is testament to the professionalism of Choral Scholars at King’s, and the results speak for themselves.”

1 Gabriel’s Message 03:10 Basque carol arr. Jim Clements
2 All I Want for Christmas is You 03:45 Carey, Mariah & Afanasieff, Walter arr. Ben Parry
3 The Christmas Song 02:42 Wells, Robert & Tormé, Mel arr. Roland Robertson
4 Dormi, dormi 02:53 Italian carol arr. Guy Turner
5 Wonderful Christmastime 02:55 McCartney, Paul arr. Robert Rice
6 Santa Baby 02:44 Javits, Joan, Springer, Philip & Springer, Tony arr. James Mawson
7 Away in a Manger 02:39 Kirkpatrick, William J arr. Henry Hawkesworth
8 I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 03:28 Wood, Roy arr. Ben Parry
9 Quelle est cette odeur agréable? 05:33 French carol arr. Henry Hawkesworth
10 Christmas Cards 03:36 Parry, Ben
11 White Christmas 02:16 Berlin, Irving & Crosby, Bing arr. Jeremy Davies
12 Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 02:03 Marks, Johnny arr. Keith Roberts
13 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 02:24 Martin, Hugh arr. Jeremy Davies
14 Twelve Days of Christmas 06:22 English trad arr. Keith Roberts